Latest Blockchain News: Finextra Research

R3 consortium numbers swell; FS giants join Linux Foundation distributed ledger project

The R3-led blockchain consortium is to close applications to new member banks as 12 more financial institutions sign up and will instead concentrate its efforts on recruiting non-banks to the coalition.

17 December 2015

News/Blockchain

NRI to test application of blockchain in banking

Nomura Research Institute (NRI) is to conduct a proof of concept (PoC) test of the application of blockchain technology to the core architecture of Japanese Internet bank SBI Sumishin.

17 December 2015

News/Blockchain

SETL commences fundraising; appoints former BofE exec Sir David Walker as chairman

Sir David Walker, a former executive director of the Bank of England, joins the ranks of financial luminaries clambering aboard the blockchain bandwagon by joining cryptographic payments and settlement infrastructure startup SETL as chairman.

15 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Blockchain startup hires former head of Swift Americas

Blockchain startup Digital Asset Holdings has hired the former head of Swift's securities division and CEO of America's Chris Church as chief business development officer.

14 December 2015

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Bank spend on blockchain tech to top $1 billion by 2017 - Magister Advisors

Spending by financial institutions on blockchain projects will exceed $1bn in 2017, making it one of the fastest developing enterprise software markets of all time, says boutique investment bank Magister Advisors.

14 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Swift bids to save correspondent banks from extinction

With the role of the middle man in financial services increasingly under threat from a host of new startups and technologies, international banking co-operative Swift has stepped in with a range of service level agreements intended to differentiate and improve the customer experience in correspondent banking by increasing the speed, transparency and predictability of cross-border payments.

10 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Omidyar Network invests in tech enabling central banks to issue digital fiat currency

EBay founder Pierre Omidyar's investment vehicle Omidyar Network has pumped money into eCurrency Mint (eCM), a Dublin-based outfit developing technology that enables central banks to issue digital fiat currency.

10 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Elusive bitcoin creator outed as man who attempted to launch world's first cryptobank

Craig Wright, the 44-year old Australian polymath outed as the creator of bitcoin, attempted to introduce the world's first cryptocurrency bank in 2014 but fell foul of Australian tax rules.

09 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Microsoft blockchain-as-a-service embraces Ripple

Microsoft is working with Ripple to add a pure play transactional financial services angle to its recently released blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) toolkit.

08 December 2015

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Fintech makes Investopedia top 10 new financial terms list

After another high-profile year for financial technology, the term 'fintech' has finally made its way onto investing education site Investopedia.

08 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Infosys to create 250 fintech jobs in Ireland

Indian IT services group Infosys is promising to create 250 fintech-related jobs in Ireland over the next three years.

07 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Isitc looks to reboot with new interim CEO

Financial industry association Isitc Europe has appointed Citi's Nigel Solkhon interim chief executive as its bids to reboot and establish itself as a significant voice in the post-trade sector.

04 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Cyber risks pose the single biggest threat to modern financial markets - CFTC

Cyber risks are the "number one threat to 21st century financial markets", far outstripping the disruptive potential of advances in automated trading and emerging technologies like the blockchain, a senior official at the Commodity Futurues Trading Commission has warned.

04 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Banks reach tipping point in fight against financial crime - research

UK banks are reaching a tipping point in the fight against financial crime, with more than 60% agreeing that there is enough or too much regulation, but inadequate enforcement, according to research from LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

03 December 2015

News/Blockchain

Goldman files cryptocurrency-based settlement system patent

Banking giant Goldman Sachs has filed a US patent application for a "cryptographic currency for securities settlement".

02 December 2015

News/Blockchain

BofE launches blockchain challenge to find interns

The Bank of England is challenging students to come up with ideas for using blockchain technology to make a "positive difference to society," dangling the carrot of paid internships to those delivering the best pitches.

27 November 2015

News/Blockchain

Nexussquared launches virtual blockchain startup programme

Swiss fintech acclerator Nexussquared has launched a virtual blockchain startup porgramme for early-stage European companies that have already acquired seed funding.

26 November 2015

News/Blockchain

Commodities market consortium to explore blockchain for post-trade

Post-trade technology company Kynetix is working with a consortium of industry stakeholders to explore the use of distributed ledgers in handling title ownership and transfer in the commodities market.

24 November 2015

News/Blockchain

Digital currency schemes could usurp central banks - BIS

The world's central banks could be rendered irrelevant by the wide-scale adoption of digital currency schemes, the Bank for International Settlements has warned.

24 November 2015

News/Blockchain

Coinbase issues Bitcoin debit card

US-based virtual currency exchange and wallet operator Coinbase has rolled out the country's first bitcoin debit card, in an effort to encourage mainstream adoption of the cryptocurrency on the high street.

20 November 2015